The home video giant is developing a set-top device for streaming films directly to TV sets and is expected to announce the offering sometime this month.

A spokeswoman for the company said: "We're talking to numerous companies and vendors about products, services, alliances and initiatives that can help us achieve our mission to transform Blockbuster into a company that provides access to media content across multiple channels -- from our stores, by mail, through kiosks, through downloading, through portable content-enabled devices -- so it's not surprising that there are rumors out there."

A couple of points here.

Blockbuster now owns MovieLink, and MovieLink-rented and -purchased movies already work just fine on a wide range of Windows Media-compatible digital media receivers.

Blockbuster offers a Netflix-like service that you might consider looking into if you have a Blockbuster retail store nearby: Pricing is identical, but you get a free movie rental every time you bring back a mailed movie to the local store. Additionally, Blockbuster sends out a free movie rental coupon via email once a month. For these reasons, it's a better service than Netflix.